An important addition to the College of Arts and Humanities was implemented while students were on break this summer.

The Women’s Studies Minor and programs related to it became a part of the college after years of not being “housed” in one department, an informational pamphlet stated.

The minor is an 18-hour interdisciplinary program that offers a broad cultural analysis through the investigation of the experiences of women.

About 15 Women’s Studies Minor classes are offered on a regular basis, and most of these classes are offered in departments such as art, economics, sociology and English.

Students can combine a minor in Women’s Studies with a number of different degrees including business, education and journalism.

Janet Marquardt, professor of art history, said, at any given time, there are as many as 15 students minoring in Women’s Studies.

Marquardt proposed the minor be added to the College of Arts and Humanities last year because the Women’s Advocacy Council and the Women’s Resource Center were “dying” on campus.

The Women’s Advocacy Council is an appointed body of faculty, staff, students and community members which helps meet the educational concerns and needs of students and women in the community, the Web site, http://www.eiu.edu/~wadvc, stated.

Rewarding feminist scholarship and recognizing women of achievement in the community are acknowledgements the council periodically makes.

The council offers many programs, including the Living History Program, in which students travel to local schools and other venues impersonating famous women in history.

“We’re trying to expand the canon of famous women,” Marquardt said. “Kids come out of school, and they know maybe two famous women in history. I’ve prepared a list of over 400 from which student actresses may get ideas for lesser-known characters.”

The Women’s Resource Center also is supported by the council.

Located in the Stevenson Hall basement, the center is an informal meeting place for students and faculty, as well as a contact center, Marquardt said.

Phone referrals can be made at the center for services such as day care and sexual assault information. A library for research on women’s studies also is a part of the Women’s Resource Center.

Both the council and the center, which focus on campus and community issues involving women, were separate from the Women’s Studies Minor.

“Years ago, (the Women’s’ Studies Council) split so the academic minor was separate from the outreach programs,” Marquardt said. “Over the years, the faculty tended to concentrate more on the minor, and it’s been hard to keep up the quality of outreach. It seemed to make more sense to put it all back together and consolidate our efforts and budgets.”

As part of the College of Arts and Humanities, the Women’s Studies Minor and the Women’s Resource Center will be directed by a full-time faculty member who will balance administrative and teaching responsibilities.

Currently, Marquardt is the acting chair of both programs.

“We’re looking for an acting director for the spring, and then a permanent director beginning in Fall 2003,” she said. “I’m holding down the fort for right now.”

The budget for the programs also was transferred to the College of Arts and Humanities, and the Women’s Studies Minor now has more access to administrators.

“This ‘new’ structure is actually our old structure and represents consolidation to streamline work and costs. There will be one budget instead of two, one director instead of two, etcetera,” Marquardt said.

However, the campus-wide project of becoming a part of the College of Arts and Humanities is still a work in progress.

“The new structure is great,” Marquardt said. “But at this point, it’s still in transition.”